Sometimes you see photos of coins and you instantly think that the photos are doing the coin an injustice, especially when the coin appears in an unflattering light like hard florescent. Such was the case with this barber dime. Here were the photos from ebay. Yes, I could instantly tell the coin had been cleaned and the seller admitted as much, but even harshly cleaned 1895 P dimes with XF details go for multiples of hundreds of dollars, if the cleanings isn't absolutely awful. So I took a chance, won the bid for what I felt was actually well below what it should have gone for. So I worried a bit that maybe I was reading too much into the pics and the coin was really, really bad in hand. Then again, I've been hunting a XF/AU 1895 for a reasonable price with okay eye appeal and no gouges for almost 7 years now. After all the coin is an R5 in that condition, so good luck finding a good one right. Well, it may not be problem free, but when it arrived it was sooo much better in hand. Yes, it is still cleaned, but I can live with that for a coin that looks this good in hand, plus it probably would have gone for waaaay more than I bid if the seller had used better photos.
I wouldn't have gambled with the pics that were given . But she's so much better in your pic . Nice pick up .
Thank the heavens that many sellers can't take a decent photo. I bought an 1874-S SL Half Dollar that I wasn't thrilled with the pictures on eBay. MUCH better in hand. Now I've got a SL Quarter coming that also looks bad on eBay. Hope lightning strikes twice.
YES!!! The SL Quarter is better than its pictures. Here's what it looked like on eBay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/351412170804 I haven't taken my pictures yet.
